


beggar's prayer

by camphollstein



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-24 19:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4932640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camphollstein/pseuds/camphollstein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami is really useless at this "people" thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	beggar's prayer

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know about this one.

When Asami is fifteen, Hiroshi Sato dies.

At his service, the tall, gangly girl stands by herself, as great people say grand things of him. They speak of a genius with the heart of gold, of the man who single-handedly changed the horizon of Republic City. They stand by his casket with soft looks and quiet voices, telling Asami how sad they are, and how much they wish to help her.

She goes home and blankly stares at the skylight in her room until the blackness turns to morning.

The halls are empty. She's sent everyone home for the weekend. They offered to take Hiroshi's medical apparatus from the reading room, and to refit the home into an able-body's house. But the girl had refused, and they left with somber goodbyes.

Asami herself stores the wheeled beds and side-tables. She takes the vials of medicine and puts them on her father's bathroom shelf. Puts the sheets and pillows on the armoire, and the clean clothes inside its drawers. Closes the blinds, seals the windows shut, and locks the door behind her; she won't step into the room again for a long time.

 

By the time she turns seventeen, Asami is a world-renowned genius.

She's grown into her mother's form; a statuesque beauty, with sharp eyes and quick tongue. In the crowded city, she stands over all her peers, a picture of class, intelligence, and resilience. The same men who used to help her reach food in her father's dinner parties are now her subordinates.

The Sato mansion has been boarded-up and locked shut for years. She now lives alone on a spacious loft by the waterfront; behind her ever-closed blinds, the sky turns beautiful tints of red, yellow, and blue. She never looks at them.

 

The day the new probending season begins, Asami is working at her office. From there, she can hear the factory sizzle with excitement- she has made it clear they can listen to all games during work hours, if they want. There are shouts and laughter, some stumbling steps towards the breakrooms, and then the game starts.

If she looked behind her, Asami would see the stadium lit up, crowds of people around the circular structure Hiroshi helped design. But she doesn't. Instead, she turns off her lamp, puts on her black coat, and waves a polite goodbye to everyone, sliding into her Satomobile and driving away.

Even when the city stirs at the coming of the Avatar, Asami refuses to look at the news. Nothing in them will show her what she needs to know.

 

Her fists are closed tightly as her doctor evaluates her exam results.

She's perfectly healthy, he says. But her stress might give her some pains later. Asami walks out the door with the burden of her name yet again; Hiroshi succumbed to stress. Is it her fate as a Sato too?

These questions muddle her mind enough- a quick yell and she has to run out of her car and into the street, looking for who she crashed against. A pair of ember eyes shift from mad to something else; he's attracted to her, she knows.

Maybe this'll be a way to chase out the stress. This is what people her age do, right? Date?

So she asks him out, and the guy accepts.

 

He's into that probending thing. She asks around and learns Mako is a firebender for the Fire Ferrets; one of the underdogs of the season. Some mechanics like the team; Lee, from her economics department, says the team could use a hand with funding. She's got some spare coins in her bank account; so she tells him to pull the strings, and soon offers Mako a sponsorship.

Mako is elated; he asks what he can do to thank her. Smiling, Asami asks him to be her date to Tarrlok's upcoming gala. He accepts without blinking. She drives him home and he calls her up for tea.

A tiny red something sprints out of nowhere to sniff her boots; a guy takes him away from her with a sheepish smile. Mako's brother, Bolin, then. He's talkative and kind, his eyes sparkling with mirth and joy. Mako tells him they have her as a sponsor, and the boy practically jumps in excitement.

“Korra'll love to hear about this!” he exclaims.

She hides her puzzlement behind a chipped cup of tea; no one had referred to the Avatar by her first name to her yet. Korra, she thinks. It's a nice name.

 

Bolin comes with them to the gala. He and Mako seem very happy with their sharp clothes; she doesn't understand why, but their smiles bring one out of her too. Bolin is happy to fill the silence in the carriage; Mako is a quiet person by nature, and Asami has her pre-crowd panic resurfacing.

The gala is too full of people. There are names she has to remember, people she has to dodge, and favors she's asked. Soon, she tells Mako and Bolin to go mingle; she has to sit and rest for a while. They shrug at each other and smile before leaving.

From the corner of her eye, Asami sees a figure in blue. The girl stands on the opposite side of the floor, talking to Tenzin, the leader of the airbenders. She recognizes him from her father's funeral; all their encounters since then have been politic, but he's never been anything but kind and courteous to her.

She watches as the girl shifts to greet someone- then her face is finally visible, and Asami has to blink repeatedly. She's beautiful- strong and tan, the girl moves with confidence, standing out from the crowd with a quiet aura of power. When she walks closer to the center, Asami sees her bright blue eyes, that move across the room in search of something.

She finds someone; Mako and Bolin approach her, smiling. A quick grin lights up the girl's features, one that fades somewhat when Mako gestures to Asami's direction. Asami's stomach falls when they come stand by her, and the Avatar looks at her with hostility.

Lost, Asami tries to find out if she's done something wrong. Nothing comes to mind, but the Avatar's eyes are still piercing, and Asami is still confused.

Later, Tarrlok pushes the Avatar into taking questions- Asami knows that panicked look, remembers having it at her first press conference. But she can't help the other girl as people bombard her with questions, questions she can't have simple answers to. Finally, the Avatar breaks, and enters Tarrlok's task force.

At leaving, Korra barely spares a glance at her.

 

For some reason – probably the same that compelled her to tell Mako of her parents – Asami keeps trying to befriend Korra. The girl's less than enthusiastic responses to her attempts at conversation slowly turn a bit warmer; after the Fire Ferrets' absurd comeback thanks to Korra, she finally gets a smile.

She's amazing on the platform. Korra is both flexible and unyielding in her bending; Mako is quick and precise, but there's something extra in Korra's bending. It's like she controls, but also belongs to the water she throws; Asami finds herself breathless every time she watches a match.

And it's great to get out with all of them, chatting with each other. Bolin's surly expression is gone, replaced with his grins and guffaws; Korra laughs and plans on taking down the Wolfbats, and Mako's hand is warm around her waist. The arena's lights turn the clouds bright over them, and Asami feels safe.

 

The day of the final, she's sitting on her booth. Asami can't recall ever being this excited for anything; it's been so long since she's just let her hair down and enjoyed something. She cheers her friends on – they're friends, right? - and yells at the referees when it becomes clear they've been paid off.

It's ridiculous, how illegal the Wolfbats' moves are. When Korra launches Mako back onto the game, Asami cheers like never before- for it to be surpassed by Korra kicking Tahno out of the rink.

But then the horror show begins.

 

“You should come too,” Mako tells her, while they pack up the brothers' things for Air Temple Island. “I'd feel a lot better knowing you're safe.”

“I'm not in danger,” she says. “I'm not a bender.”

“Come, Asami!” Bolin insists. “It'll be fun! Like an eternal sleepover!”

She hasn't had a sleepover since she was ten, and it's hard to resist Bolin's pout.

“Come.” Korra says.

“Okay.”

 

“Asami, did you know Korra likes Mako?”

She blinks. “Oh, um- no, I wasn't completely aware of that.”

 

“Korra, can I ask you a question?”

They're sitting by the dining room, waiting for lunch. Korra is playing around with water from a nearby vase, creating ice sculptures for fun. She looks up at Asami, grinning.

“Sure thing, Asami.”

“What did Ikki mean?”

The water falters. Korra puts it back in the porcelain. Asami's gut churns.

“She thinks I like Mako,” she says. “Like like.”

“I'd thought as much.”

Korra's surprise is evident. “What?”

“You didn't like me,” is Asami's quiet answer. “I wanted to know why. Mako was the reason that made most sense.”

“Then why didn't you say something?”

“Why didn't you?”

Korra's mouth opens and closes like a fish's. “Because...”

It's hard to talk when she wants to cry. Asami stands up and tugs at her sleeves, refusing to meet the Avatar's eyes. “I just hope,” her voice catches. “We can be friends.”

 

Mako doesn't take the break-up well. He argues and shakes his head, but she stands by it. She doesn't mention Korra in general- just that she has to. He storms off, frustrated, and Asami feels stomped on. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, but she refuses to let them, retreating into her room.

Bolin tells her of the kiss. Asami isn't surprised, but it stings. She stays quiet and withdrawn the whole day. Mako and Korra laugh and smile at each other.

Punching Equalists and shocking the daylights out of them does the trick, though. Serves them for teaming up with Cabbage Corp.

 

After everything, Asami returns to her office. Korra has her bending back, and the brothers were more than happy to keep her company at the South Pole for a while.

Weeks blur into each other; Sato Industries sends out dozens of new projects, bringing Asami back into the forefront of her line of work. The entirety of Republic City seems to want to pat her in the back- but she has done nothing out of the ordinary.

One day, as the dawn rises, Asami gets a peek of the sky. It's azure blue- the same color of Korra's eyes. She opens the blinds, throwing dust unto the wind, and actually looks at the sky for the first time in years.

 

Within a month, she has opened all the windows in her office and loft. The sky is beautiful, especially when it mirrors something of Korra.

Everything seems to take her mind to the Avatar. The smell of the ocean, the leaflets about probending. She can't stop thinking about her, day and night.

At some point, Asami ends up doodling Korra's face on one of her designs. That's when she knows.

 

“You look snazzy.”

Asami self-consciously glances at her outfit. “Thank you.”

Korra stands on the first steps of the Air Temple; the boys and her had just arrived back. Naga sits by Asami's car, tail thumping the ground. Asami can hear the whole island come alive at the sight of its Avatar once more.

“How have you been?”

“Busy. Designing things.”

Asami wants to slap herself after that line. Korra looks at her with a weird grin on her face.

“Well,” she tries again. “We should get inside.”

She almost makes it inside, but then Korra speaks up. “I don't like Mako.”

A frown takes over Asami's face. She turns around. “But I thought-”

“They stayed at the South Pole because Bolin likes snow. If Mako could've had his way, he would've left sooner.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So you're not dating Mako?”

Korra barks out a laugh. “No. Too broody.”  
“  
Cool.”

Asami looks like a bobblehead from nodding so much; she takes a step forwards, wrings her hands, bites her lip.

“Also,” Korra says, walking to where Asami is. Even though she's taller than her, Asami feels small under Korra's gaze. Everything seems heightened, her blood singing, her head spinning. “I like someone else.”

“Oh.” She repeats like a broken record.

Korra smiles. “I thought they were a bit stuck-up, at first. But then they turned out to be really cool. Smart, too. Genius, even- I thought I couldn't match up.”

“That's ridiculous,” Asami chokes out. “You're you.”

A soft grin sprouts at Asami's words. Korra now stands close to her, smiling, and it's very hard for Asami to not blush. It feels like she's tingling all over.

“That means a lot, coming from you, Asami,” she says, taking a bit of Asami's hair to play with. “Does that mean you still want to be friends?”

She wants a great many things, but she nods anyway. “Yes. I haven't had many friends.”

“You have all of us.”

And then she leaves.

 

Asami's heart-rate is worrying.

The Krew is at a small diner near Asami's loft. Mako and Bolin sit opposite her and Korra, the last of which seems to have made it her life's mission to destroy Asami's composure. From quick touches to cheeky jokes, Korra's antics have driven Asami half to madness- and it's not even noon yet.

She makes sure to look perfectly proper to everyone, though. Hopefully that'll do the trick.

But then Korra swings an arm around her seat, talking boisterously about probending, and Asami is positively melting.

It's the whole scenario that has her off her game. There are no enemies to be beaten today- just them, sitting around, talking and eating. She hasn't had this in so many years that she hardly knows what to do now.

After they eat, Korra grabs Asami's hand and whisks her off to the park, leaving the two brothers with amused smiles by the door. She talks and talks about her hometown, her parents, how fun it is to be back- Asami can't not smile and laugh, even with her nerves at their peak.

“C'mon, lemme show you something.”

She stops at an apparently random spot by the lake.

“What is it?”

“This is where I came first in Republic City.”

Asami looks around. “Why?”

“Fish. I ate one, so the police went after me.”

“You're full of surprises.”

“That's the hope.”

While Asami tries to figure out why anyone would eat the pond's ugly-looking fish, she misses Korra moving to be face to face with her. When she looks back, Korra's eyes are on hers.

“You know when I said I liked someone?”

There are only two things this can mean. One: Korra has no notion of personal space. Two: Korra likes her. Taking into account her lack of closeness during any other interaction, Asami takes a guess and pulls Korra by the chin into a kiss.

The other girl responds immediately by wrapping her arms around Asami's waist- and, well, maybe her mind is blown. Every nerve-ending on her body is on fire. She kisses Korra deeply – too deeply for a public place to be honest – and loops her arms around her neck.

When they break apart, Asami feels dizzy.

“You know, for a genius, you're pretty clueless.”

Asami kisses her again.


End file.
